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Let That Be Your Last Battlefield (episode)
The crew of the Enterprise find themselves caught in the middle of an intractable conflict with a bizarre fugitive alien and his equally belligerent pursuer. Summary On a decontamination mission to the planet Arrianus, the Enterprise encounters a shuttlecraft reported as stolen from Starbase Four. The vessel's life support systems are failing and the pilot may be suffocating in the lack of atmosphere. Kirk orders that the shuttlecraft be brought aboard. When the pilot emerges and subsequently collapses, he displays a unique appearance; black on the left side of his face and white on the other. Brought to sickbay, McCoy revives the pilot, who identifies himself as Lokai from the planet Cheron. Although grateful for the rescue, he is combatative when questioned about the theft of the shuttlecraft. Concluding that Lokai's coloration is a mutation of some kind, Kirk plans to return Lokai to Starbase Four to face theft charges once the Arrianus mission is completed. Enroute, however, sensors pick up a highly sophisticated (and invisible) vessel on an apparent collision course with the Enterprise. At the last moment before impact, the ship appears to disintegrate, but deposits its pilot on the bridge; Bele -- similar in appearance to Lokai, but the colors are reversed. Bele identifies himself as an official from the Commission on Political Traitors from Cheron, who has come to apprehend Lokai. When Bele is brought to sickbay to see Lokai, we learn that they have been pursuing each other for a long time; 50,000 Earth years as it turns out. Bele charges that Lokai led a revolt of people who are black on the right side against the ruling order, which is white on the right side. Lokai counters that the white/right order enslaved the black/right people of Cheron and continues to oppress them. Bele demands that Kirk surrender Lokai, while Lokai claims political asylum with the Federation. Kirk ends the arguement and submits a report to Starfleet Command, looking for a solution. Starfleet's answer is that, since Cheron has no diplomatic treaties with the Federation, Starfleet cannot hand over Lokai without due process. Unhappy with Starfleet's response, Bele commandeers the Enterprise, using his mental powers to drive the ship to Cheron. Kirk is forced to activate the self-destruct sequence in order to force Bele to relinquish control of the ship. Having failed through confrontation, both Bele and Lokai attempt to enlist the sympathies of the crew while enroute to Arrianus. Once the decontamination mission is complete, however, Bele deactivates the self-destruct program and regains control of the ship, headed for Cheron once more. Upon arrival at Cheron, however, sensors reveal massive destruction of all major cities and huge piles of unburied corpses -- the entire population of Cheron has annihilated itself in civil war. Blaming each other for the holocaust, Bele and Lokai fight, despite Kirk's offer for them to live with the Federation. The pair then chase each other through the ship, each eventually finding the transporter room and returning to the planet's surface... the last two life forms on a dead world. Background Information * The original story concept did not have the aliens with bi-colored skin. * Beal and Lokai have normal human hair on their heads, but their eybrows are black and white to match their faces. * Stock footage from "The Galileo Seven" is used for all of the shuttlecraft shots. * This is the last episode of the series written by Gene L. Coon a.k.a. Lee Cronin. * This is the only episode in which we see the transporter room from the perspective of someone beaming down. * There is a nice scene in this episode in which Lokai pleads his case with the Enterprise crew. In the only instance in the series other than "Charlie X" and "The Tholian Web", the door to a room on a functioning starship is not fully closed (in "Charlie X" it was the recreation room, in "The Tholian Web" it was the chapel). The door here is only open a few inches. This seems to have been done simply to allow Spock to eavesdrop on the conversation, although his hearing it doesn't end up having much bearing on the story. In a bizarre continuity error, although both Walter Koenig and George Takei are heard speaking lines of (dubbed) dialogue in this scene, Koenig is not in the room. * No other episode in the original series features such stunning close-ups of the Enterprise model. Beautiful zoom shots from below and above the saucer section are used. * The self-destruct sequence from this episode is repeated exactly in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. * This episode is a brilliant parable on the illogic of racial bigotry. * The Enterprise goes from Ariannus to Cheron in about four minutes real time. This despite the fact that Cheron is supposed to be in a remote uncharted quarter of space. * The "chase scene" between Lokai and Bele through the corridors of the Enterprise is effectively mixed with footage of burning cities from air raids during World War II, as each imagines what has happened to their planet. * The late Frank Gorshin received a well-deserved Emmy nomination for his role as the devious and single-minded Bele. * Cheron, coincidentally, is rather close to the name of Pluto's moon (spelled "Charon"). The companion of our solar system's ninth planet was discovered in 1978. In Greek mythology, Charon was the ferryman who took the dead across the River Styx. * Bele's totally invisible ship is perhaps the biggest and most noticable budget cut in the original series. * Gorshin's costume in this episode is incredibly similar to the one he wore as the Riddler in "Batman." Coincidence? * The director included a weird effect in this episode. During the "Red Alerts," the camera would zoom in and out quickly on the blinking red alert signal, and was tilted at an angle, ala "Batman" (another coincidence?) There are also several extreme close-up shots of the red alert signal, with a quick zoom-out to reveal the action in the scene. These effects were never used in any other episode. * One of the rare (perhaps only) 'beauty shots' of the ship's lower saucer section is seen in this episode. During the opening credits in the first scene, the camera glides underneath the saucer to an exteme closeup of the saucer's phaser section and light; Very cool in slow-mo on your dvd. * In one syndicated version of this episode, Spock's and Scotty's part of the self-destruct sequence were cut. Memorable Quotes *"Change is the essential process of all existence. For instance, the people of Cheron must have, at one time, been monocolored." "You mean, like both of you?" "I'm sure there was a time -- long ago, no doubt -- when that was true." -- Spock, Bele and Kirk * "And yet, you are filling him full of your noxious potions as if he were a human." (bristling)"When in doubt, the book prevails, Mr. Spock. I've run tests; blood is blood -- even when it's green like yours. All the usual organs are there; somewhat rearranged, perhaps, plus a few I've never seen before. Now I've enriched the oxygen content of his blood and I've pumped in a strong stimulant... and, I must say, his recuperative powers are excellent." -- Spock and McCoy on treating Lokai. * "I am grateful for your rescue." "Don't mention it -- we're pleased to have caught you." -- Lokai and Kirk * "So this is justice after Arrianus; you have signed my death warrant! If you are partisans of justice, prove it -- kill him!" "We are not killers." "Well, what do you do, carry justice on your tongues? You will beg for it, but you are not willing to fight or die for it!" "After so many years of leading the fight, you seem very much alive." "I doubt the same can be said for many of his followers." -- Lokai, Checkov, Kirk, Spock * "From five to zero, no command in the universe can prevent the computer from fulfilling its destruct order. You can use your will to drag this ship to Cheron, but I'' control the computer -- ''mine is the final command!" -- Kirk to Bele * "Has the Enterprise returned to the course set for it by my orders?" "Negative; the Enterprise is now moving in a circular pattern." "And at warp 10, we're going nowhere mighty fast!" -- Kirk, Spock, Scotty * "I once heard that on some of your planets, people believe they are descended from... apes." - said with contempt and distaste by Bele * "The actual theory is that all life-forms evolved from the lower levels to the more advanced stages." - Spock --Spock to Bele * "You're finished, Lokai! Oh, we've got your kind penned in on Cheron into little districts, and it's not going to change -- not for ten times ten thousand years... You're dead, you half-''white!" (to the crew) "You useless pieces of bland flesh -- (to Bele) I'll take you with me, you half-''black!" -- Bele and Lokai as they approach Cheron * "What's the matter with you? Do you hear Spock -- your planet's dead! There's no one alive on Cheron because of hate! Give yourselves time to grieve; give up your hate! You're welcome to live with us. Listen to me -- you both must end up dead if you don't stop hating! -- Kirk * "Bele -- the chase is finished." "He must not escape me." "Where can he go?" -- Kirk, Bele and Spock * "But their planet's dead; does it matter now which was right and which was wrong?" "Not to Lokai and Bele. All that matters to them... is their hate." "Do you suppose that's all they ever had, sir?" "No, -- but that's all they have left." -- Sulu, Spock, Uhura and Kirk * "There was persecution on Earth once; I remember reading about it in my history texts." "Yes, but that was back in the 20th century -- there's no such primitive thinking today." Chekov and Sulu discussing Lokai's descriptions of Cheron. Links and References Regular Cast * William Shatner as Kirk * Leonard Nimoy as Spock * DeForest Kelley as McCoy * James Doohan as Scott * George Takei as Sulu * Nichelle Nichols as Uhura * Walter Koenig as Chekov * Majel Barrett as Chapel Guest Stars * Lou Antonio as Lokai * Frank Gorshin as Bele * William Blackburn as Hadley (uncredited) * Frank da Vinci as Brent (uncredited) * Roger Holloway as Roger Lemli (uncredited) References Ariannus; auto-destruct sequence; Cheron; Cheron native; Coalsack; Commission on Political Traitors; Starbase 4; stealth Category:TOS episodes de:Bele jagt Lokai nl:Let That Be Your Last Battlefield